You have to look at the first 3 years for Joe and compare then with the first 3 years with DeMar.... The 4th year for Johnson would be the current year for DeMar.. I don't have faith that he would have as a good a year, but Bryan may have and thus offered the contract extension now.

I know what your saying, but Johnson didn't get his contract after his 3rd year. Johnson only got his contract after his 2004/5 campaign.

But even if we assume BC is afraid Demar would have a very good year (and there is very little historical evidence with Demar to indicate this will be the case) and would have to pay more, atleast he'd know he is getting a productive player whose cost would be capped under the CBA.

It's hard to be a BC supporter this morning... the loss was tough, but I can stomach it and take many positives from it, but hearing about the DeRozan contract nearly made me physically ill. I defended BC all offseason, pointed to DeRozan being a good, young, cheap asset and raved about the financial flexibility the team had (even after the Fields signing), then BC goes and does this. Absolutely pathetic contract that he hasn't come close to earning.

Last night 3 of those guys were 'under the bus' (DeRozan, Fields and Amir) and the fourth (Kleiza) had a DNP - Coach's Decision... what an efficient and effective way to spend $26.85M! That's nearly half the team's total cap space and not one of them is a legitimate starter!

This team seriously needs a legit starting wing that can score efficiently and consistently, while also contributing in other ways too (ie: defense, rebounding, passing). Our wings, led by DeRozan, are so far below average that it's not even funny.

I know what your saying, but Johnson didn't get his contract after his 3rd year. Johnson only got his contract after his 2004/5 campaign.

But even if we assume BC is afraid Demar would have a very good year (and there is very little historical evidence with Demar to indicate this will be the case) and would have to pay more, atleast he'd know he is getting a productive player whose cost would be capped under the CBA.

I am in agreement.. this is a horrible signing. The timing is completely wrong and he essentially bid against himself. This was my last straw with Bryan and I hope to God that he doesn't get an extension. I was just trying to rationalize what Bryan must have been thinking.

He waited for Joe to become an RFA and Atlanta snooped in and signed him to a ridiculous offer. Bryan may have learned from that 'mistake' and signed DeMar before that situation could take place again. I just don't think DeMar will ever be as good as Joe was in his 4th year. He has to prove me wrong now. Thanks Bryan for making it even more difficult to root for your team!

“I don’t know the specifics, [the deal] happened right before the game,” Casey said. “Congratulations to [DeRozan]. he has earned it. He is one of the core guys in our franchise. He is a young kid, 23, getting better every day and making big plays.

“He is growing. He has gotten bigger. He worked on his game in the summer and his future is in front of him. We talked before the game about his measuring stick as being efficient, getting to the free throw line and attacking the rim.”

Colangelo:

“DeMar has worked very hard and has been a significant part of the building process here in Toronto,” said Colangelo in a Raptors’ press release. “We view DeMar as a young, athletic and talented basketball player whose character fits what we are putting together.”

The $40M Man:

“I went into the season looking at I have to be that much better than I was last year and come with much more in order to help this team win,” DeRozan said. “It’s a nice thing just knowing that I am here, that this is the place I am going to be. I can just concentrate on doing everything for this team and keep moving forward.

“It’s an honor for me. I am a loyal dude. For them to have the same passion in me is a great thing. I feel like I owe them all I can bring to the team.”

All of those quotes could've easily been taken from 2010. Nothing has changed in 3 years. We're still talking about how hard DeRozan works, and our hope he turns into a legit player.....one day.....

The above is the reason an average player is an average player. Demar is always going to have his flaws but I don't have any doubt that he belongs(legit.) in the league. However, I am surprised at the money he got. I think he got more than he deserves.

haha! Bargnani, Amir and Kleiza are the only possible amnesty candidates for the Raptors. My bigger fear is that BC actually believes what he said about DeRozan and believes he is the franchise wing of the future... what ever happened to trying to acquire a star wing like he talked about after last season??? The worst part is that DeRozan is far less tradeable today than he was yesterday.

...In the NBA right now, a wing has to be, at minimum, one of two things: a lock-down defender, or lights out from three....

Not that I am defending this contract or suggesting that DeMar is the player the Raps need at his position, but out of the 15 starting wings in the Eastern Conference, how many meet those criteria? Eight? I think DeMar has some company playing the wing position and not being lock down or lights out.

What I don't understand is that, the way I understand it, had the Raptors not extended DeRozan by the Oct.31 deadline, he would have become a restricted free agent (RFA) after the season. The Raptors would have been able to match any contract offer and would still maintain his 'Bird rights', allowing them to re-sign him to a contract that put them beyond the salary cap (although they'd still have a cap hold worth approx. $4.5M). They'd still be able to trade him as a $3.3M expiring contract up to the trade deadline this season and could still work S&T next offseason, if they decided they didn't want/need to re-sign him or if an offer was made that they didn't want to match.

That's why I don't get the contract extension at this time. Did BC really think that DeRozan would be that sought after by several teams, resulting in a bidding war that pushed the offers to $9.5M or more? If he was willing to go as high as $9.5M per season, why not just wait and match (or just sign outright without having to match) in the offseason? That way they'd have about $5M additional cap space to work with BEFORE re-signing DeRozan, which they won't have now (that's essentially another MLE level contract/player that could have been signed). It's the timing as much as it is the amount, which is bugging me so much.

People say this all the time, and to suggest that every single player in the nba does not want to play here is ridiculous. If you have a good team and you have money to spend, you'll be able to find players. Look at John Lucas: he probably could have got similar money from a team where he would have had guaranteed back-up minutes, but he chose to come here.

What I don't understand is that, the way I understand it, had the Raptors not extended DeRozan by the Oct.31 deadline, he would have become a restricted free agent (RFA) after the season. The Raptors would have been able to match any contract offer and would still maintain his 'Bird rights', allowing them to re-sign him to a contract that put them beyond the salary cap (although they'd still have a cap hold worth approx. $4.5M).

That's why I don't get the contract extension at this time. Did BC really think that DeRozan would be that sought after by several teams, resulting in a bidding war that pushed the offers to $9.5M or more? If he was willing to go as high as $9.5M per season, why not just wait and match (or just sign outright without having to match) in the offseason? That way they'd have about $5M additional cap space to work with BEFORE re-signing DeRozan, which they won't have now (that's essentially another MLE level contract/player that could have been signed). It's the timing as much as it is the amount, which is bugging me so much.

Could it possibly have something to do with the other members of his draft class all seeming to get extensions recently? Did they not want to risk DD being disgruntled by the fact that Lawson, Curry, etc. are all being extended and he was not?